Monday, March 25, 2013
The D-backs' No. 5 starter
By Jason Catania
While some of the Arizona Diamondbacks' winter transactions were questioned at the time, the one area the club addressed was its pitching, as there are more arms for the rotation than spots available.
The first four spots in the five-man are expected to line up something like this: Ian Kennedy, Trevor Cahill, Wade Miley and Brandon McCarthy, who was a free agent add over the offseason. The No. 5 job, though, remains up in the air.
GM Kevin Towers is expected to have the final say in who gets the final spot, according to Bob McManaman of AZCentral.com.
Even after trading away 2011 first-rounder Trevor Bauer -- one of those moves that was widely questioned -- Arizona still had three legitimate candidates heading into spring: left-hander Patrick Corbin, who pitched reasonably well in a swingman role as a rookie in 2012; righty Randall Delgado, who was part of the Justin Upton trade; and Tyler Skaggs, who is arguably the top left-handed pitching prospect in baseball.
Skaggs has since been sent to minor league camp, so it's either Corbin or Delgado at this point.
Nick Piecoro of AZCentral.com wrote earlier this month Corbin looked like the frontrunner. The stats say the same, as Corbin has a 3.66 ERA and a 19:7 K:BB ratio in 19.2 innings; whereas Delgado is sporting a 6.88 ERA with a 9:6 K:BB in 17 innings.
If Corbin indeed lands the role, it's unclear whether Delgado would shift into a bullpen job or be sent to the minors. Skaggs will pitch out of the rotation at Triple-A to get more seasoning, and he could be an impact call-up during the season.
